Versus committing to the quarterback that led the Washington Redskins to the playoffs for the first time in three years, general manager Scot McCloughan elected to place the one-year franchise tag worth $19.9 million on Kirk Cousins.

With Cousins looking to lead Washington to back-to-back playoff appearances, McCloughan may not have a choice but to sign Cousins to a long-term deal worth an excess amount of money. After their huge win over the struggling Packers, Cousins experienced a unique exchange, to say the least.

In that moment, it appeared Cousins was sending a message to McCloughan with the message being to pay him. However, Cousins cleared up all the confusion.

“No, there’s nothing,” Cousins said on 106.7 The Fan. “I was just excited coming off the field with emotion. I would prefer for that to happen with no cameras and no microphones. But I ran into him on the field where there were cameras and microphones. We’re both competitors who want to win desperately and both feeling great in that moment.

“Scot has done a phenomenal job bringing in the right people … that have made a big difference in the success of this team. A big reason we are where we are and part of the reason we enjoy being here is because of the team Scot assembled.”

There’s still plenty of football left, but unless there’s an epic collapse in Dallas, the Redskins will be battling for a wildcard spot.

Source: NFL